Pages: 1 2 3 [4] 5 6 ... 27   Go Down

Author Topic: Recent Format Agnostic Professional Works  (Read 283388 times)

haefnerphoto

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 679
    • http://www.jameshaefner.com
Re: Recent Format Agnostic Professional Works
« Reply #60 on: April 22, 2015, 09:17:40 am »

Glad the work has met with your approval!  The overhead shots are taken with a 50mm lens (on a P45+) and the distance from the camera to the ground is 18'.  I have to be exactly centered because at that distance if I'm off a little the car will look skewed.  Lighting wise, I use a combination of direct light, reflected light and kenoflos, it's not unusual to have 4-8 different captures masked together to achieve the desired look.  Craig, what's a perky?  Jim
Logged

JoeKitchen

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 5022
Re: Recent Format Agnostic Professional Works
« Reply #61 on: April 22, 2015, 11:25:22 am »

Another shot done recently and again on Canon with TS-E.



Did you use a soft box for this image? 

If so, I almost always use the 50 degree cloth grids when I use a soft box.  Going to Chris's point, it gives me greater control over any spill I would have otherwise gotten.  I often can have the box almost at ceiling height aiming down and avoid any spill onto the ceiling. 
Logged
"Photography is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent

JoeKitchen

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 5022
Re: Recent Format Agnostic Professional Works
« Reply #62 on: April 22, 2015, 11:35:02 am »

I guess I am missing all of the fun not checking out this area.  

Here are a few from a couple of weeks ago.  The first two are from a bank office building project.  I tried to get a little more creative with my light, using the Profoto Magnum reflector to add harder shadows.  

The last two is a nice kitchen I shot.  In the first I decided to place the Magnum outside to have it sweep across the business section of the kitchen.  In the second one, that same position gave me pretty intense glares and I had to move it.  After doing so, I can't help be think, "should I have placed it like that for the first one?"   ???
Logged
"Photography is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent

JoeKitchen

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 5022
Re: Recent Format Agnostic Professional Works
« Reply #63 on: April 22, 2015, 11:43:28 am »

Here's a project shot recently of the new Alfa 4C.  It's first use will be the car's catalog but the images will then go into their asset library.  I shot the majority of the images with my P45+ but the profile interior was shot with a 5dmk3 and 17mmT/S.  Jim



Really nice. I really like your lighting for cars. 

Have you ever checked out Michael Furman's work?  He is another car photography (based in Philly).  Different lighting style, but your antique cars remind me of his work to a degree.  He mainly shoots antiques; some of the cars he works with I would love to just be able to say I sat in it for a few seconds. 
Logged
"Photography is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent

Craig Lamson

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3264
    • Craig Lamson Photo Homepage
Re: Recent Format Agnostic Professional Works
« Reply #64 on: April 22, 2015, 11:55:58 am »

Craig, what's a perky?  Jim

Jim, its a carpet brush.  I though you said you were going to get on in another thread.  Sorry if I was mistaken.




« Last Edit: April 22, 2015, 11:58:42 am by Craig Lamson »
Logged
Craig Lamson Photo

Craig Lamson

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3264
    • Craig Lamson Photo Homepage
Re: Recent Format Agnostic Professional Works
« Reply #65 on: April 22, 2015, 01:43:04 pm »

I guess I am missing all of the fun not checking out this area.  

Here are a few from a couple of weeks ago.  The first two are from a bank office building project.  I tried to get a little more creative with my light, using the Profoto Magnum reflector to add harder shadows.  

The last two is a nice kitchen I shot.  In the first I decided to place the Magnum outside to have it sweep across the business section of the kitchen.  In the second one, that same position gave me pretty intense glares and I had to move it.  After doing so, I can't help be think, "should I have placed it like that for the first one?"   ???

Joe, to my eye, the window light on the first kitchen image might be a bit too low.  As shown it rakes across the cabinet and hood almost to the top of them. I might have take it higher if possible. 

I love creating window light, but it's a lot of work, and I don't have to deal with lots of really tall windows with my subjects.  That said I'm not above flagging off the top of the beam if the window is too high to give me the cutoff I'm looking for.

Another thing I find helpful is using two lights to create the "sunshine"  Often times a single beam just won't spread far enough to cover everything.  For example in your second kitchen image some sunlight raking over the sink area and the cutting board might have created some nice pop and longish shadows. 


If I only had one light outside I might have moved it just to get this area and then combine it in post.
Logged
Craig Lamson Photo

JoeKitchen

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 5022
Re: Recent Format Agnostic Professional Works
« Reply #66 on: April 22, 2015, 02:57:18 pm »

Joe, to my eye, the window light on the first kitchen image might be a bit too low.  As shown it rakes across the cabinet and hood almost to the top of them. I might have take it higher if possible. 

I love creating window light, but it's a lot of work, and I don't have to deal with lots of really tall windows with my subjects.  That said I'm not above flagging off the top of the beam if the window is too high to give me the cutoff I'm looking for.

Another thing I find helpful is using two lights to create the "sunshine"  Often times a single beam just won't spread far enough to cover everything.  For example in your second kitchen image some sunlight raking over the sink area and the cutting board might have created some nice pop and longish shadows. 


If I only had one light outside I might have moved it just to get this area and then combine it in post.


Thanks Craig, thinking about it, I should raised the light higher for the first kitchen shot.  I like the sweep of light, but there is something off about it, so raising it could have helped. 

Two lights for sunlight is an interesting idea.  I will have to think about this more. 
Logged
"Photography is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent

Chris Barrett

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 730
    • www.christopherbarrett.net
Re: Recent Format Agnostic Professional Works
« Reply #67 on: April 22, 2015, 03:05:17 pm »

I've done two lights for sunlight also.  One light almost always looks fake because the top and bottom shadow lines diverge instead of running parallel like the sun does.  With two flagged lights you can create those parallel shadow lines.

Chris Barrett

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 730
    • www.christopherbarrett.net
Re: Recent Format Agnostic Professional Works
« Reply #68 on: April 22, 2015, 03:14:27 pm »

I guess I am missing all of the fun not checking out this area.  


yes... this is the cool thread now.

CB

JoeKitchen

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 5022
Re: Recent Format Agnostic Professional Works
« Reply #69 on: April 22, 2015, 03:38:38 pm »

I've done two lights for sunlight also.  One light almost always looks fake because the top and bottom shadow lines diverge instead of running parallel like the sun does.  With two flagged lights you can create those parallel shadow lines.

Thanks Chris!  An obvious solution to an annoying problem I never considered. 
Logged
"Photography is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent

haefnerphoto

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 679
    • http://www.jameshaefner.com
Re: Recent Format Agnostic Professional Works
« Reply #70 on: April 22, 2015, 04:31:43 pm »

Jim, its a carpet brush.  I though you said you were going to get on in another thread.  Sorry if I was mistaken.






Craig, I did get one!  Haven't used it yet though, thanks for reminding me that I have it.  Jim
Logged

haefnerphoto

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 679
    • http://www.jameshaefner.com
Re: Recent Format Agnostic Professional Works
« Reply #71 on: April 22, 2015, 04:44:59 pm »

Really nice. I really like your lighting for cars. 

Have you ever checked out Michael Furman's work?  He is another car photography (based in Philly).  Different lighting style, but your antique cars remind me of his work to a degree.  He mainly shoots antiques; some of the cars he works with I would love to just be able to say I sat in it for a few seconds. 

Hi Joe, I'm very familiar with Michael's work.  He's carved out a very nice niche market for himself and does a tremendous job.  Glad you liked the work you saw.  Jim
Logged

Craig Lamson

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3264
    • Craig Lamson Photo Homepage
Re: Recent Format Agnostic Professional Works
« Reply #72 on: April 22, 2015, 08:42:12 pm »

What HDR program are you guys using?  I have Photomatrix but lately I've found that I prefer EnfuseGUI.

It's not as intuitive asPhotomstrix but I prefer the end results,

http://software.bergmark.com/enfusegui/Main.html
Logged
Craig Lamson Photo

David Eichler

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 823
    • San Francisco Architectural and Interior Photographer
Re: Recent Format Agnostic Professional Works
« Reply #73 on: April 22, 2015, 08:55:10 pm »

What HDR program are you guys using?  I have Photomatrix but lately I've found that I prefer EnfuseGUI.

It's not as intuitive asPhotomstrix but I prefer the end results,

http://software.bergmark.com/enfusegui/Main.html


I hardly use HDR anymore, but use either Photomatix fusion or Canon's HDR when I do. Norman McGrath says he uses Canon's HDR a lot now and doesn't use his lights anymore.
Logged

Chris Barrett

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 730
    • www.christopherbarrett.net
Re: Recent Format Agnostic Professional Works
« Reply #74 on: April 22, 2015, 09:22:55 pm »

Craig, what do you like better about Enfuse?  I haven't tried it yet, still using Photomatix, but will give it a spin.

David, I wouldn't go quoting McGrath.  I've always felt his work was mediocre at best.  Your own images have much more depth, richness and refinement than anything I've ever seen of his.  Software will never give you the same volume, texture or depth of space that lighting does.  Take it from someone who typically composites 5-7 exposures for every image.

IMHO
-CB

Craig Lamson

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3264
    • Craig Lamson Photo Homepage
Re: Recent Format Agnostic Professional Works
« Reply #75 on: April 22, 2015, 10:37:15 pm »

Craig, what do you like better about Enfuse?  I haven't tried it yet, still using Photomatix, but will give it a spin.

David, I wouldn't go quoting McGrath.  I've always felt his work was mediocre at best.  Your own images have much more depth, richness and refinement than anything I've ever seen of his.  Software will never give you the same volume, texture or depth of space that lighting does.  Take it from someone who typically composites 5-7 exposures for every image.

IMHO
-CB

I think the result is more natural.  I do lots of 360 vr panos and PTGUI has an HDR routine called exposure fusion.  I love the results as I don't light those vr's. To my eye, Enfuse is just as good.

Logged
Craig Lamson Photo

David Eichler

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 823
    • San Francisco Architectural and Interior Photographer
Re: Recent Format Agnostic Professional Works
« Reply #76 on: April 22, 2015, 10:45:23 pm »

Craig, what do you like better about Enfuse?  I haven't tried it yet, still using Photomatix, but will give it a spin.

David, I wouldn't go quoting McGrath.  I've always felt his work was mediocre at best.  Your own images have much more depth, richness and refinement than anything I've ever seen of his.  Software will never give you the same volume, texture or depth of space that lighting does.  Take it from someone who typically composites 5-7 exposures for every image.

IMHO
-CB

Chris, I mentioned McGrath mainly because he is someone who is widely recognized among architectural photographers. Anyway, I appreciate your comments about my work, especially since I really admire your talent, skill and experience and refer to your work as one model of high quality for the genre.

I have to agree with you about lighting, and I can't see myself doing without it. That said, I admire the work of Scott Frances, who claims he no longer uses supplementary lighting (through heavy compositing, rather than HDR).

As for Enfuse, it seems to me to be about the same thing as Photomatix fusion, without all the controls of the latter. However, when I use Photomatix fusion, I tend leave the controls pretty flat and do all the tonemapping and other post stuff in Lightroom and Photoshop.
Logged

Craig Lamson

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3264
    • Craig Lamson Photo Homepage
Re: Recent Format Agnostic Professional Works
« Reply #77 on: April 22, 2015, 10:52:31 pm »

I hardly use HDR anymore, but use either Photomatix fusion or Canon's HDR when I do. Norman McGrath says he uses Canon's HDR a lot now and doesn't use his lights anymore.

I light everything but I find, for the rv interiors I do, that an available light HDR layer under my finished layer allows me to erase areas around the practicals so I can get the reflections and cast light shapes the practicals produce.

The RV guys are all going LED for the interior lighting and the color temp truly sucks.  I shoot strobe so it's not an issue, except for the practicals.


This is not my favorite wood, but this was from Monday...


Logged
Craig Lamson Photo

David Eichler

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 823
    • San Francisco Architectural and Interior Photographer
Re: Recent Format Agnostic Professional Works
« Reply #78 on: April 22, 2015, 11:03:11 pm »

I light everything but I find, for the rv interiors I do, that an available light HDR layer under my finished layer allows me to erase areas around the practicals so I can get the reflections and cast light shapes the practicals produce.

The RV guys are all going LED for the interior lighting and the color temp truly sucks.  I shoot strobe so it's not an issue, except for the practicals.


This is not my favorite wood, but this was from Monday...




I think anyone shooting modern residential interiors these days is finding a lot of LED lighting with that yucky color. However, whenever possible, I do separate exposures for the artificial light sources and blend them in separately.

With the increased dynamic range (lower noise, etc.) provided by recent cameras and RAW software, I am finding I can get much more out of single ambient exposures for a base, and so find much less of a need HDR in the mix, and I am just using mere Canons, not even the new Nikons or Sonys that so many are enthusiastic about.

You do really well those tight spaces. Looks like the style I use sometimes for real estate photography would go over well for this kind of work: bright and evenly lit and wiiide. Lighting really helps bring out the textures in the wood and upholstery for these.

« Last Edit: April 22, 2015, 11:19:23 pm by David Eichler »
Logged

Craig Lamson

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3264
    • Craig Lamson Photo Homepage
Re: Recent Format Agnostic Professional Works
« Reply #79 on: April 22, 2015, 11:24:41 pm »

Your work is very nice David, as is the subject matter....
Logged
Craig Lamson Photo
Pages: 1 2 3 [4] 5 6 ... 27   Go Up